updated 03:40 pm EDT, Wed May 4, 2011

HTC Bliss to target young women

HTC is developing an Android smartphone built specifically around women, one insider said Wednesday. Known so far as the Bliss, it would be targeted at women in their 20s and 30s and would have both hardware and software shaped around stereotypes of what women want. It would have a "calming" green-like color, This is my next said, as well as a rubber back for the grip and cliché apps like calorie counters and shopping tools.

Accessories would play an important part, according to the tip. A light-up "charm indicator" would wire up to the phone but would be an easy way to spot a phone call or message without getting to the phone itself. It would also help find the phone in a crowded purse. A dock with a wireless charging pad would turn the phone into a pseudo-alarm clock the moment it's in contact, and there would be both a voice-guided speakerphone and a matching Bluetooth headset.

The design, said to be a cross between the Desire S and Desire Z (T-Mobile G2) in looks but touch-only, would ship by the end of the year. Verizon was so far the only mentioned carrier.

Such a rumor is unconfirmed and may not necessarily come to pass. Companies are often known to focus group phones or otherwise experiment only to kill a project before it becomes public. HTC's tendency towards a rapidly widening phone range, often with relatively slight differences, could still see the Bliss arrive as a way of gauging real interest in gender-oriented phones.